Evanescent - By Addison Moore Page 0,19
of her uniform, and I get lost for a moment watching her flesh quiver.
“No, I don’t want to send you back. But if I thought you were in any danger whatsoever, I would never have waited all day to tell you. The Tobias sisters showed up earlier for their regularly scheduled haunting and were less than impressed to find out someone, or something, had taken up residency here on campus in their name. I talked to my dad, and he seems to think it’s a Fem.”
“Why?” Moisture glistens her eyes.
“Because they’re twisted.” I feel like a jerk for scaring the shit out of her. “What do you want to do for tonight?” I’m half-afraid she’ll be in Wesley’s arms within the hour. That she’ll want me to drive her to Henderson, and I’ll have the image of her running up the steps to meet him immortalized in my mind forever like some unwanted screensaver.
“Where are you going, Coop?” She cuts me a sharp look.
A smile plays on my lips. Laken knows damn well where I’m going.
“I’m going home,” I say it just above a whisper.
“Well then, I guess I’m coming with you.”
The moonlight streams in through the skeletal branches of the cedar, the dappled light softens over her features, illuminating her like some otherworldly goddess.
My adrenaline soars as I start up the engine and head back onto the highway.
The road smooths beneath the tires and a pinhole of light emerges in the distance as we speed toward the first stoplight in Trinity County. We’re escaping the nightmare world of Ephemeral if only for a night.
I’m heading home with Laken by my side.
It looks like Wesley’s nightmare is just beginning.
The lights are on in the house, making the windows glow a soft orange. Pumpkins line the porch on either end as I step aside, letting Laken walk ahead of me.
“I love it.” She nods up at the window that Marky attacked with construction paper. A wrought iron gate with a frightened cat decorates the picture window out front. A full moon with a bat slicing through the center greets us from the kitchen. Halloween and Christmas is pretty much what Marky lives for this time of year. Sorry to the turkey. He always seems to get the shaft.
“Everything looks so homey.” Laken takes in a breath as if Marky’s artwork belonged in a gallery.
The doorknob spins, and Marky’s little face appears, murky, from the other side of the screen.
“Laken!” She does a little bunny hop before letting us inside.
“Marky!” Laken matches her enthusiasm.
“I thought I’d bring home a friend.” I give my sister a half-hug. “How many times have I told you to look out the window before opening the door?” I say it mostly in jest, but I’d hate for Marky to find herself in hot water one day because she didn’t heed my advice.
I pull off my jacket and toss it on the couch.
Dad has taken off to Boston on another one of his conferences, leaving behind the latchkey princess and me to hold down the fort.
“I didn’t need to look out the window,” Marky smarts. “I heard your voice.” She jets out her hip to emphasize her sarcasm. Marky squeals and wraps her arms tight around Laken’s waist. “I miss you.” It comes out sweet enough, but there’s desperation buried beneath her words, and I’m heartbroken for her, slightly embarrassed by the scene all together.
“I missed you, too.” Laken plants a kiss over Marky’s head, and her eyelids tremble as if she were about to cry. “How about a movie?” She looks to me for approval.
“No way. It’s nine.” I shake my head. “She’ll be a zombie in the morning if she stays up any later.”
Marky balks at me with the attitude of a thousand angry teenagers. “You always ruin everything.”
“We’ll do it another time.” Laken is quick to rectify. “I promise.” She strokes her hair before ushering her toward the stairs.
“Will you tuck me?” Marky’s mouth falls open as if the idea hadn’t dawned on her until now but it was such a fantastic one that she could hardly absorb it.
“You bet. I’ll meet you up there in five.” Laken beams a smile. She warms the entire house with her larger-than-life presence.
I’d mention the fact that Jen is going to kill her—that she probably has Austen House swarming with an army of detectives by now, but I’m not up for ruining the moment, so I don’t say a word.
“I’ll get you some blankets. You like your pillow